Jade’s Jewels

This afternoon I attended a Collection Bites session at the Manchester Museum. Run once a month, these are one hour discussions about items in the museum’s collection. This month it was hosted by Jade Mellor, a jewellery designer based in Manchester who uses natural minerals and stones incorporated into resin rings, pendants and bangles. Jade is inspired by items she has seen in the museum’s collection such as asteroids and ancient stones. I randomly met Jade about a year ago while listening to a talk at the Manchester Art Gallery. She then invited me to the opening of the new space within the Manchester Museum despite only knowing me for half an hour. Jade is one of those people who is just SO NICE. She deserves an award for ‘Being genuinely lovely.”

Jade’s jewellery along side the artefacts from the museum that inspired her

Jade’s work is just as wonderful as her personality. Her rings are my kind of jewellery – big chunky pieces that fill your fingers and could act as a weapon in desperate times. The way in which she mixes colours and natural materials is organic and seamless – she manages to make large chunks of quartz and pyrite appear naturally embedded in the resin structure. Not normally a fan of shiny things, Jade brought in samples of pyrite and I am now in love with bling. This amazing substance, also known as “Fool’s gold,” naturally forms in cubes (or cuboid crystals according to Wikipedia.). It’s amazing. During the talk we made faux pyrite by sticking gold gift-boxes together. Bee-u-de-fool.

Pyrite is awesome.

I am now trying to choose which ring I want to ask Jade to make me for my birthday. Jade’s black resin rings with pyrite are currently top of my list. Yes, that’s a HINT.